Watch Duty

Our WD staff meteorologist Pete recently talked to @washingtonpost about the early signals for fire disasters this year. Here's what to know: ➡️ What’s happening: Fire season is starting earlier. Many parts of the west had a lack of winter rain and snow, meaning dry conditions, combining with strong winds and record March heat. The combo is accelerating how quickly fires can ignite and spread ➡️ What’s weird: Areas that are typically too wet to burn this time of year are already dry enough to catch fire. Last week's Morrill Fire in Nebraska burned 643,000 acres in a week—unusually large and fast for this early in the season ➡️ Why it matters: Fires may move faster, start sooner, and occur in multiple places at once. Early awareness and preparation are more important than ever

The next time you open Watch Duty on an iOS device, you'll get the option to enable critical alerts. It's a great time to make sure: 1️⃣ You have the latest version of the Watch Duty app 2️⃣ You've selected the counties that are important to you under ‘notifications’  3️⃣ You've enabled notifications and critical alerts  Stay safe!

What if your phone was on silent during an urgent fire evacuation notice? We're introducing Critical Alerts on iOS. For select rare and urgent situations, these alerts can bypass Do Not Disturb mode with an emergency sound, ensuring you receive life saving notifications when they matter most.

For our 100,000 new Watch Duty users in Georgia and Florida who might need help navigating the app — we've got you covered. Watch Yusra's how-to guide, share with family and friends, & make sure to download Watch Duty at watchduty.org

Watch Duty has been covering both incidents, ramping up our existing 24/7 coverage with all hands on deck to share updates. Latest at app.watchduty.org + download the app for notifications.

➡️ Two major wildfires are tearing through south Georgia. The Pineland Road and Highway 82 fires have burned 50,000+ acres as of Monday morning. Still growing. ➡️ Leftover debris from Hurricane Helene (like fallen trees) are combining with extremely dry conditions for fast fire growth. Now, when wind shifts, the fire shifts, & firefighters are forced to change strategy fast. ➡️ County officials are doing a great job getting information out. We're tracking every update.

Totally get the concern, but checking every piece of information is still part of our workflow! The tools job is to transcribe and cut at lot of the dead air that's in radio traffic, and then send that transcript directly into Slack. There, our reporters will see the transcript and replay the feed. So they'll still vet and verify all info - this will just speed things up for them and help with overwhelm, where in the past they'd have to listen to 20+ feeds simultaneously during large fires.

@watchdutyapp @Googleorg How do you measure speed gains vs accuracy loss?

During a major wildfire, Watch Duty reporters monitor 20+ radio frequencies at once. Today we announced that @Googleorg will embed engineers with us to build AI for radio transcription & signal intelligence, helping reporters move faster when seconds count. More: watch-duty.visitlink.me/pbOqOO

Checking every piece of information is still part of our workflow, so this won't be an issue! The tools job is to transcribe and cut at lot of the dead air that's in radio traffic, and then send that transcript directly into Slack. There, our reporters will see the transcript and replay the feed, so they'll still verify all info. Think of it as a way to speed up work, where in the past they'd have to listen to multiple sources simultaneously during large fires.

@watchdutyapp @Googleorg But wouldn’t inaccurate transcribing be a inaccurate data point for the humans?

@unclej520 thanks Jay!

@watchdutyapp I absolutely love this App!!!

Wendy is an Asheville, North Carolina local & a retired doctor who has fly fished since third grade. As someone who's spent decades outdoors, here's how Watch Duty gives her the peace of mind while spending time on the trail👇

It’s so massively dry across the Southeast that wildfires are breaking out across the region. Drought is spreading and will likely grow through July. This data is courtesy of the Watch Duty fire app you can download.

@TheRealGAPeach3 @mattvanswol @WafflesAPuppy They are happening. Get Watch Duty, a fire alert app, and it shows the dozens of aircraft monitoring and dropping. From air tankers to heilos to light aircraft. This is the flught path for just one:

@brookesbca thank you, Brooke! So happy we can support you, and others across the U.S. too. ♥️

@watchdutyapp @CodeRed001Blue @Googleorg Appreciate the app so much being from SoCal! So great it is Nation wide now.

No jobs lost here! Our alerts will always be vetted and verified by real people, not AI or bots. Human expertise is at the center of the work we do, and this tech will NOT be validating info or sending alerts itself - it will simply transcribe radio traffic so our reporters can find relevant feeds faster.

@watchdutyapp @CodeRed001Blue @Googleorg They just lost their jobs...

Latest update from the Watch Duty app ... this is the best app I could find if you're in the Southeast GA wildfires.

We totally understand the anxiety and also feel very strongly about human expertise in every update and alert. This tech will NEVER be validating info or sending alerts itself - it will just transcribe radio traffic so that our reporters find relevant feeds faster. Our alerts will always be vetted and verified by real people, not AI or bots.

@watchdutyapp @Googleorg Idk about this. I’d feel safer having humans do this. The clankers are not great.

We feel very strongly about human expertise in every single update and alert. We're using tech & tools that will NEVER be validating info or sending alerts itself - it will simply transcribe radio traffic so that our reporters find the relevant feeds to dive into faster. We're 300+ staff and volunteers and growing - our alerts will always be vetted and verified by real people, not AI or bots.

@watchdutyapp @Googleorg Be careful they don’t take your jobs.

When a wildfire is getting close, you don't have time to figure things out. You need to know what's happening, fast. That's what happened to John. Fire nearby and…nothing. No warning, no reliable info - just trying to piece it together, alone. We built the thing we wished existed, driven by real people - active and retired firefighters, dispatchers, first responders and reporters - sharing what's happening in real time. ICYMI, watch John's TED Talk on the real experiences that led to Watch Duty: watch-duty.visitlink.me/PkDkJt

Download Watch Duty to stay informed on fires in your area ⬇️ watchduty.org

Our backbone is experienced people, translating chaos into clarity when seconds count.

Ever wondered how Watch Duty alerts get to your phone so fast…and why they're so accurate? Real humans—many retired firefighters and dispatchers—work to support our users 24/7.